Dirty Little Secret
by kathiekay
Summary: Casey and Derek go home for the first time since they began dating. Can they keep their relationship a secret from the family? They better, because no one needs to know their dirty little secret. Futurefic, sequel to Crazy Game. Dasey.
1. The Sleeping Goat

**A/N: This is the not-so-long awaited sequel to _Crazy Game_! I hope you enjoy it!**

"Caaaaaasssseeeey."

Casey looked up from her desk and over at the lump moving under her blankets. The misshapen blob rose slightly, and a large hand stuck out from underneath one edge.

"Caaaaaaaassssseeeey!" The groaning was a little more insistent this time.

"What do you want, Derek?" she asked, turning her entire body towards the lump under her covers.

"I want you … to come over her … NOW."

Casey scooted her chair over to the edge of the bed and put her face up to the edge of the blanket with a sigh. "OK, I'm here. Now what?"

"This," Derek said before reaching up and pulling her onto the bed, his muscular arm wrapped around her slim waist.

Casey, giggling, playfully swatted at him as her wrestled her to the mattress. "Derek, stop! You and I both have exams soon, and if I don't do well on mine, then there's no way I'm getting into the English Language and Literature concentration. And you won't get into the Film Studies program!"

"Mmmmm, don't care," Derek groaned, nuzzling into her neck. "I just want you. Now. Exams can wait."

"No, they can't, Derek," Casey replied calmly. Life had been like this all semester—Casey trying to put her nose to the grindstone and Derek trying to put his nose elsewhere. After a small scuffle, they would usually, eventually buckle down and do some work. Casey would be less stressed, Derek would be less playful, and everything would get done. They had worked out a routine, and it was surprisingly wonderful for them. They balanced each other.

"Yes, they can, Case. There's still plenty of time to study, and if you won't play with me, then at least feed me. I'm hungry!"

"You can feed yourself! I'm not making you a sandwich."

"Please?" Derek looked at Casey with puppy dog eyes, and she felt herself starting to melt a little.

"No. But I will go to The Goat with you," Casey offered.

"Case! The Goat? Again? Why do I always have to go and hang out with your wanna-be artsy friends? No, you're taking me to JJ's." Derek sat up and looked at Casey authoritatively.

Casey also sat up. "No, I'm not, Derek. If you want me to take you to lunch, we're going to The Goat."

"_Fine,_ Derek conceded, "but I'm not eating asparagus again."

"Agreed," Casey said with a nod, wriggling out from underneath Derek. "Besides, it made your pee smell weird."

"You were smelling my pee? Weird, Casey, even for you." Derek planted a kiss on her nose and rolled onto the floor.

Casey and Derek strolled out of their apartment hand-in-hand to walk the 3 km towards The Sleeping Goat. Even through his gloves, Casey could feel the heat radiating off Derek's hands. _Good_, she thought, _because I'm freezing. We probably should have taken the car. I mean, it's December! In Ontario! It's cold. _Casey involuntarily shivered.

"You cold, Case?" Derek extracted his hand from hers and threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, actually, I am. Remind me why we didn't take the Prince?"

"Because you can never find parking down there and it pisses me off," Derek replied.

"Right. I know. And it's healthier to walk. But it's hard to accept that when the wind is blowing at 40 knots off the lake and it's below zero." Casey rubbed her mittened hands together in an attempt to get them warmed up.

"Ahhh, but I know how to warm you up," Derek said, wiggling his eyebrows. "C'mere."

Derek enveloped Casey into a big hug and kissed her tenderly. She felt another involuntary shiver go down her spine—from lust, not coldness this time—and she responded with a fiery intensity. _I AM pretty stressed with exams coming up. I'm so glad that I have Derek to calm me down. Or rev me up. Whatever. Mmmm._ Casey let he mind go blank as she fell deeper into Derek's kisses.

"Hey, you two, get a room!" A car honked its horn as it drove by. Slightly flustered, Derek and Casey looked up and the catcaller. It was Sam, fresh from a pledge meeting, his latest flavor sitting in the passenger seat. Sam had become somewhat of a ladies' man in his short time at Queen's, and Derek and Casey were finally starting to get used to his revolving-door dating. It was always a little sad for Casey when some of them left—she had been especially fond of Keira, Lily, Emma, Ellie, and Meg. Paige, Sam's current flame, was one of Casey's least favorites. She was kind of a bitch, and treated Sam like he was hers. Sam didn't seem to mind, though, and for the sake of their friendship and their living arrangements, she kept her mouth shut.

"Sammy!" Derek yelled. "Hi, Paige. What are you two up to?"

"Just coming back to drop off some books and see if you wanted to go get some lunch. We're starved," Sam answered through the rolled-down passenger window.

"Actually, we were on our way to The Goat if you want to come with us," Casey offered.

"Um, that sounds good, Casey," Sam said politely, "but I think we're on our way to JJ's. Interested?"

"Yes!" Derek threw his arms in the air and turned to Casey. "Three against one, we're going to JJ's. Let's go!" He grabbed for Casey's hand and started to drag her towards Sam's car.

"Hey, wait a second, Paige didn't say anything," Casey protested as Derek led her.

"I'll eat anything if it gets my window up and some food in my stomach," Paige answered icily. "Plus, The Goat is for weird losers. I don't want to be seen there."

"Fine," Casey huffed, stomping towards Sam's car. "JJ's it is. AGAIN." She opened the door and sat down.

"Aww, don't be sad, Case," Derek said, sliding into the car next to her. "You can get a salad. You love their salads." He kissed her on the cheek.

Casey softened a little at his touch. "Yeah, I do love their salads. And I could really use some protein right now. I think I'll get a Cobb salad, no bacon, but with a side of grilled chicken. Yeah." Casey's stomach grumbled in agreement.

Derek laughed. "I can help you in the protein department, Case,"

"Ew, gross, Derek!" Casey said, swatting at him.

Sam joined in Derek's laughter as Paige made a face. "That was pretty rancid, dude. But seriously, you two need to go back upstairs. How are you going to manage when you go home for Christmas?"

Derek and Casey looked at each other, mirroring the other's deer-in-headlights expression. After a few seconds, Casey answered. "We … don't know yet," she said slowly. "We've been a little wrapped up with other things."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Sam answered, chuckling. "I can't seem to even go to the bathroom without running into the two of you making out. Have you told your parents yet?"

"Eh, don't worry about it," Derek said, clapping Sam on the shoulder over the driver's seat. "We'll figure it out later. But I'm starving. Let's go."

As they drove off, Casey's mind was spinning, trying to churn out a solution. Instead, she got caught in an endless loop of self-berating. _How could we have forgotten about our family and Christmas? What the hell are we going to do? Sam's right, he can barely move in the apartment because we're everywhere. I kind of feel sorry for the poor guy, but he had no idea that we were dating when he agreed to live with us. Gosh, if Mom and George knew anything about us … we'd be so dead. We're GOING to be so dead._

At the beginning of the term, Casey, Derek, and Sam had lucked out and gotten a canceled 3-bedroom apartment at the Al Clachan student apartment complex. Even though Casey's scholarship covered room and board, George and Nora had eventually concluded that it would be good for Derek and Casey to stick with each other at university, at least during their first year. Everyone assumed that having Sam around would balance the living situation, and as far as they were concerned, they were right. Casey and Derek seemed to live in relative peace, to the point that Nora and George left them alone during the semester.

Little did they know that it was actually Casey and Derek who balanced each other, that after a ridiculously-charged game of poker a week before university started, they had finally shared that one kiss that they had both been aching for for ages. Casey's friend John had observed the entire ordeal, and he was highly entertained by the entire situation, as was his partner, Courtney. The two of them had actually invited Casey and Derek to visit them for Christmas; they were planning to go a few days later and celebrate the new year in New York. Casey and Derek had started dating a few days after that, and although they maintained separate bedrooms, they were very rarely apart.

Sam was surprisingly cool about the whole thing when they told him. They had both been a little nervous, not just because they were stepsiblings—which some people would deem as incredibly weird—but because Sam and Casey dated back in Grade 10, and it's completely against the Bro Code to date a buddy's ex. He hadn't seemed to mind, though; he just congratulated Derek on a great catch and warned him not to break Casey's heart. He also said that he wouldn't mention to anyone about their family situation—again, some people might think it was weird. Derek and Casey had been—and still are—grateful for his discretion and understanding. _And we repay him by dry humping all over the apartment. Classy, Casey, really classy. We're going to have to tone it down a LOT over the break. Well, it's only 5 days. How bad can it be?_

**A/N: Lame as it is to start a story and then take a break, it looks like I may be doing that. Life is about to get very busy very fast, and I may have to break for a few weeks. Sorry! But read other fics in the meantime and add this to your alert list so you know when it's updated again.**


	2. Sneaking Out

**A/N: Thanks for being so patient, y'all! I found a spare minute to get this out, so here it is, the continuation of _Dirty Little Secret._ Will the McDonald-Venturi family figure it out?**

_This is bad. Very bad._

Derek groaned and buried his face in his hands. He was sitting on the edge of his bed in the McDonald-Venturi residence, desperately trying to restrain himself from going into Casey's room and pretending like they were back in Kingston. They had been home for less than 24 hours, and he was already ready to leave.

_This is going to be impossible,_ Derek thought. _There is no way that I can be in the same house with Casey and not touch her. There's no way that I'm going to be able to go to sleep without kissing her goodnight. There's no way that I can go for five whole days without even the possibility … _Derek shuddered.

"Hey, bro, what's happening?" Edwin strolled into Derek's room.

"Uh, Ed, knock much?" Derek replied. "This ***is* **still my bedroom."

"Sorry, Derek. I'm just glad to have you home. How's university?" Edwin parked himself on the edge of Derek's bed.

"Ed, off," Derek said, jerking his thumb towards the wall.

Edwin got up. "Wow, touchy. All right, I get that. So, D, tell me, are the ladies at Queen's smokin'?

Derek looked at Edwin witheringly. "'Smokin',' Ed? Really? Is that what you've been spouting at school? No wonder you haven't gotten any dates."

"I have so! Actually, I'm dating a girl in Grade 10. She's a hottie." Edwin puffed up with pride.

"Really, Ed? Nice pull, buddy. Now get out." Derek walked over to his door and looked at Edwin pointedly.

"What's your deal, bro?" Edwin asked, throwing his arms out to the sides.

"My deal, Edwin, is that you're in my room without asking and bugging me about the details of university. University is great, the ladies are awesome, blah blah blah. Now get out."

"OK, OK, I'm going." Edwin stood up and walked to the door. "I just can't believe that after four months away, you don't have any stories. I mean, how's a guy to learn if his only brother won't teach him?"

"The same way I did: by doing. Now get out."

"Aha, so you ARE doing something!" Edwin exclaimed, one finger in the air.

"OUT!" Derek yelled.

"Fine, I'm going!" Edwin scampered out of the room.

Derek closed the door behind Edwin and sat down at his computer. _I can't believe that Edwin was being so pushy! Was he always like this? He's such a little sneak; why did I teach him so well when we were kids? Damn it, now he and Lizzie are going to be up in my business, and who knows how much they're going to bug her. Hey, I wonder if she's online? _

Derek logged into his instant messaging service and scanned his list. No one. Then:

**Dancegal07:** hey, honey

**Hockeystud18: **casey. tell me this is killing you.

**Dancegal07:** It is! It's terrible! We haven't even been here for a day and I already want to leave! Sam was right—we're not going to be able to pull this off.

**Hockeystud18: **LOL, even your IMs have that freak-out tone to them. and i know what you mean, edwin's already started digging for dirt. come in here

**Dancegal07:** Derek! I can't come in there! What if someone see us?

**Hockeystud18:** or hears us? ;-)

**Dancegal07:** No. Absolutely not. Not with my mom in the house. Or George, for that matter.

**Hockeystud18:** aww, case, come on. no one will know whats going on

**Dancegal07:** NO. But … we can go somewhere. I'll meet you in the garage in 5 minutes.

**Hockeystud18:** excellent. see you in 5

Derek logged off and ran out the door. He all but leapt down the stairs, grabbing his jacket and throwing it on as he headed out the door. He wasn't more than two steps down the front path when he slammed into George.

"Derek! Slow down! What's the rush?" George Venturi asked his eldest son.

_NOOOOOOOO! WHY did Dad have to be here? Come on, Derek, lie. Lie like a dog._

"Uh, I'm going to Sam's house. BIG hockey game on. Gotta go."

George looked at Derek with confusion. "There's no hockey on this afternoon … wait, are you watching replays?"

"Sure, Dad. Gotta go. Bye." Derek raced down the walk toward the Prince. _You're losing your touch, Venturi … it's Casey. Oh, Casey … _His heart skipped a beat.

Derek climbed into the car and rubbed his hands together for warmth. George was still looking after Derek with confusion all over his face, but after a few seconds, he shrugged his shoulders and went into the house. _Thank God,_ Derek thought, _I don't think Casey and I could have explained why she was coming with me to watch hockey. Hockey _REPLAYS_ at that. They're probably surprised that we haven't torn each other's heads off yet, being home without Sam and all. No matter, we just have to act normal around them … normal for us, anyway. Or what they think is normal for us._

Derek was surprised at the slamming of the car door. Casey was sitting next to him, her hair windblown and her cheeks a rosy red. She was smiling widely and had a notepad in her hand. There was something written on it, something that Derek could only partially read from his position.

"'How to avoid getting caught by the McDonald-Venturi family'? Really, Casey? Wasn't it your lists that got us in trouble the last time we tried to sneak around?" Derek winked.

"No, it was you backing into George's car," Casey replied indignantly. "Besides, this one will stay with me, attached to my notepad so that you can't throw it out the window. So"—Casey consulted her list—"drive at least 100 m away from the house before looking at me or kissing me. Go."

With a happy little sigh, Derek stepped on the gas and drove down the street. He surreptitiously reached over to take Casey's hand, and was promptly met with a swat.

"Derek!" Casey shrieked. "None of that! We're only 50m from the house!"

_Damn, she was serious about this 100 meter-thing,_ Derek thought, silently cursing himself. _Casey has got a definite case of Crazy sometimes. Remind me why I'm in love with her?_

"Stop the car!" Casey shouted.

"What!" Derek yelled, looking around wildly for a sign of anything out of the ordinary.

"This," Casey said coyly, and twisted herself around so that she was sitting in Derek's lap. She leaned in and gave him a rough kiss, raking her hands over his neck and up the back of his scalp. Derek returned the kiss in kind, tangling his left hand in her hair and running his right one over her back and down. He felt himself becoming more responsive to her growing intensity, and just as he thought he couldn't take it anymore, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and gently tugged his head back.

As she gazed into his face, eyes shining, Derek tried to catch the thoughts swirling around in his head. _This is why I love her. That's right, I remember now._

Casey rearranged herself into her seat and rebuckled her seatbelt. She ran a hand through her hair and smoothed it down before digging through her bag for a tube of lip gloss. "So, Derek, where are we going?"

"Anywhere you want, Case, just name it."


	3. Family Dinner

**A/N: Finally! Sorry it's been so long, but I've been working on a few projects ... nothing major, but they did have deadlines that I had to meet. No matter now--_Dirty Little Secret_ is back on! Thanks for your patience and the amazing reviews so far--I hope you enjoy!**

Casey and Derek pulled into the driveway and gave themselves a once-over, checking for signs that they had been doing anything but what their cover stories indicated. Passing inspection, Casey turned to Derek.

"OK, Derek, you were at Sam's watching hockey replays, I was at Emily's catching up on gossip from the school year."

"Did you ever get a hold of her?"

"Uh, shoot, no," Casey said, shaking her head.

"Then you need a new cover, because if she called the house looking for you, we're both screwed."

"Good point. How about … Noel's?"

"Not happening. I don't like the idea of you using some guy that used to be in love with you as a cover."

"But Derek, it's perfect! There's no way he's called the house, and Mom and George wouldn't really suspect any foul play if I said I was visiting with him. As far as they're concerned, it's perfect. Besides," she added, "Noel wasn't in love with me."

"Yeah, he was, Case, but that's not the point. The point is that you want to use some old flame as your cover. How would you feel if I used Sally as _my _cover? That maybe I was just going to visit her and 'catch up.'" Derek made air quotes with his fingers.

"Actually, that kind of makes sense," Casey said. As the words slipped out of her mouth, she could feel her jealousy flaring up. _He better NOT go see her! No … cut it out, Casey, he's not interested in her anymore. He's got you. So don't blow it by going all crazy on him. _She took a deep breath and tried to keep her face relaxed.

"Really, Casey? That makes sense? Explain that to me."

"Well, you and Sally were the closest thing to in love that your family has ever seen, right?"

"Right …" Derek said slowly.

"And you haven't seen her for over a year, right?"

"Right …"

"So it makes sense that you wanted to go see her over winter break. See how she's doing, catch up. It's only a cover, anyway."

"But Case, if she really is in town, which I highly doubt, then she might call anyway. Kind of like Emily, it's a bad call."

"Well, we need something, Derek, because we've been here for five minutes arguing about this, and the family is going to wonder what's going on and why you haven't come in yet. So hurry it up!"

"Fine, Casey, I was at Sam's, you were at the library doing some extra work for next semester like a HUGE NERD so that you absolutely will get into the English Lit program. How's that?"

Casey shook her head. "Derogatory, but sensible. Why didn't I bring home books?"

"Because they didn't have the exact edition of _Jane Eyre_ that you wanted. Can we go in now?"

"Yes. Let's do this." Casey took one last look at herself in the mirror and one last longing glance at Derek before opening her door.

They were met by the entire McDonald-Venturi clan sitting down at the dinner table. As the door slammed shut, five heads turned to greet them, and the facial expressions ranged from relief to shock when the family saw them walk in together.

"Smerek!" Marti shouted, jumping up and running to give her favorite big brother a hug.

"Smarti!" Derek picked his baby sister up and gave her a big hug.

"Smerek, what were you and Casey doing together?"

"We weren't together!" Casey exclaimed nervously. "I was at the library looking for a copy of _Jane Eyre_, but they didn't have the edition that I wanted so I didn't bring any books home. That's where I was. And Derek was at Sam's watching hockey." _D'oh! Too much information, Case. Remember what Derek taught you: less is best. Except for when you're at the park necking. Then more is best. Except not. Shoot, get it together, Casey._

Six heads turned to look at Casey. Derek was giving her a warning look that clearly told her to stop talking. Nora McDonald, with her massive belly hidden by the dining room table, cocked her head to the side in confusion. George looked at Casey with suspicion, Marti with curiosity, and Edwin and Lizzie with knowing grins.

Casey savagely berated herself. _ We're so busted. We can't keep this from them. Can we PLEASE just make it through the next four days and get the hell to New York already? It'll be so nice just to relax and be ourselves around them, and Derek can finally see that he seriously had nothing to worry about with John. This is TORTURE!_

"Uh, Case," George asked, "how did you know that Derek was at Sam's?"

"Oh, Dad, she called me from the library, all, 'Wah wah wah, it's so cold, come get me, Derek!' So, being the nice brother that I am"—Derek threw his arm around Casey's shoulder, causing a little shiver to go down her spine—"I went to rescue her from the big, bad books on my way home from Sam's."

"Oh, Derek, that was very sweet of you," Nora said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I knew you two would get along … eventually."

"Yeah, it's just too bad that we never saw any of that around here!" George guffawed, turning around and laughing with the rest of his family.

"Too right," Nora said, picking up her flatware. "Come on, you two, sit down. We've been holding dinner for you."

"Thanks, Nora," Derek said, rubbing his belly, "I'm starved."

"Me too," Casey said, walking around the opposite side of the table and taking her seat across from Derek, "research always makes me hungry." _"Research always makes me hungry?" Really? Will you shut up already, Casey? They're going to see right through you!_

"Uh, Derek, " George said, "you got a little something right there." George motioned to the left corner of his mouth with his index finger.

Derek reached up and wiped at his face with the back of his hand, but not before Marti saw what he was wiping off. "Ew, Smerek! You have lipstick on your face!"

"You should check out Casey," Edwin said, smirking and pointing to a spot on his neck.

Panicked, Casey dug through her purse and pulled out a powder compact. Sure enough, right where Edwin was indicating on his own neck was a very large hickey starting to develop.

"Oh, Casey, gross!" Lizzie said, giving her sister a look of contempt.

Nora gave the kids a disapproving glare. "What were you two doing?"

George started laughing with Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti looked between Derek and Casey expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Well?" Nora pressed.

"Nothing!" Casey and Derek exclaimed simultaneously.


	4. Sleepover

**A/N: Unbelievably, another chapter up. Sorry for the cliffie last time, but it just makes this chapter all the more exciting, right? Enjoy!**

"I can't believe they almost caught us!" Derek whispered harshly.

"It's not my fault! You wanted me to lie! You know I'm a terrible liar!" Casey whispered back.

"I know you're a terrible liar, but I figured that you'd pull it out, just this once, because you were scared Nora would catch us!"

"Wait, you're calling me a terrible liar?" Derek, that's so mean!"

Derek threw his hands in the air and dragged them over his face. _WHY is she being so difficult right now? She almost got us caught, and then who KNOWS what would have happened? We'd be so dead._

"Case," Derek said, sitting down next to Casey and putting his arm around her shoulders, "you're the one that said that you're a terrible liar, not me. And you can't be that bad—we didn't get caught."

"Yet," Casey replied witheringly, shrugging him off.

"Maybe, but we haven't gotten caught. So let's come up with a game plan … hopefully one that doesn't include you accidentally getting hit in the neck with a falling dictionary." Derek grinned.

"What about you? 'Uh, Dad, Nora, I didn't want to tell you … but … we have to do a transvestite project for school next semester and Sam's sister was helping me with my makeup,'" Casey mocked.

"I know, that was pretty bad, but it was worse when Marti asked what a transvestite was. Have you ever seen my dad turn green like that before? It's like he swallowed a bug!" Derek dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Derek, shh, someone might hear you!"

"Chills, Case, it's not like you haven't come into my room at night before. Besides, I could be on the phone or watching a movie or something. Nothing to see here. Yet." Derek reached behind Casey's neck and brushed her hair out of the way.

"No! Derek, not here! We already had one close call, we don't need another," Casey whisper-shrieked, standing up and moving to the back wall.

"But Casey … I'm _need _you! Don't tell me that you don't need me too."

"Well …" Casey hesitated, looking undecided about her next move. _Yes! _Derek thought. _She needs me too! Maybe tonight will work out better than I thought!_

"Fine, Derek, but be quiet. You know how you get into it."

"No more than you, Case. Should I get an extra pillow out just in case?" Derek winked. _Mmm, maybe I better … she practically destroyed my last one, she was gripping and biting at it so hard._

"Jerk," Casey muttered, taking off her shirt and heading for the far side—her side—of the bed, "just for that, you're not getting step 1 tonight."

Derek laughed a little, not knowing if she was joking or not. _Casey and her steps. Only she would code what we do into neatly-divided steps. What happened to bases? Or just enjoying yourself? God help me … this girl is amazing._

"Oh, really?" Derek asked rakishly. "How about if I do this?" He nuzzled his face into her neck and started kissing her along her jawline.

Casey moaned lightly and curved her body into his. "No … mmmm … I probably wouldn't. Not if you keep doing that."

"How about this?" Derek asked, lightly kissing her throat down to the base of her neck and settling into the groove there.

"That's good too," Casey sighed, shifting her weight.

"And this?" Derek continued his path of slow kisses down her body.

"Mmmm …"

They lapsed into silence as they continued to kiss and caress each other. There was nothing urgent about the way they moved; they were able to take their time with each other. Derek could feel a warm flush radiating throughout Casey's body, and he felt his own blood pump a little faster in response. Adrenaline rushed through his body, and suddenly, urgency presented itself. Derek felt Casey meet his rush, and the intensity between them began to grow. It swelled bigger and bigger, until …

"Derek?" a voice called out.

"Edwin!" Casey and Derek whispered together.

A look of sheer panic crossed Casey's face, and Derek imagined that his face had the same look. He thought fast.

"Casey … hide!" She rolled into the space between the bed and the closet, and Derek flipped on the television, frantically scanning for something that may have remotely sounded like what they had been doing. When he found it, he replied:

"What do you want, Ed?"

"Can I come in?"

"Uh … sure." Derek casually (he hoped) threw an arm over his head with the clicker in the other.

Edwin opened the door and surveyed the scene. "Uh, did I interrupt something?"

"Actually, you kind of did. My TV watching. Now what do you want?"

"Uh, nothing, really, I just heard some funny noises and wanted to see what they were myself." Then Edwin caught a glance of what was on the television. "Oh. Never mind, I get it. Carry on, bro." Edwin smirked.

"Like I need your permission. Anything else?"

"Nope." Edwin turned to leave. "Hey, what's this?!"

Derek looked at what Edwin had picked up and paled slightly. _Damnit, Casey, your shirt!_

"Derek, why do you have a woman's shirt in your room?"

"Uh, the transvestite project again?" Derek asked hopefully.

"I'm not buying it," Edwin answered. "Tell me what's really going on."

"Ed, nothing's going on," Derek answered.

"Fine, Derek, then you leave me no choice. Liz and I will just have to investigate." Edwin spun around, poised to leave the room.

"Whatever, Ed, do what you need to do, there's nothing going on."

"Whatever you say, bro. But whoever she is, she wears the same clothes as Casey."

Edwin left, and Casey popped her hear up from the far side of the bed. "Derek! He's on to us! Did you hear that?"

"Casey, easy," Derek replied, "he had your shirt, the_ one you wore to dinner_, in his hands and didn't figure it out. We're fine."

"You really think so?" Casey's eyed darted nervously to the door.

"Yes, I really think so. Now let's finish what we started."

Derek let out a happy little sigh when Casey rejoined him under the covers and started back where she left off.

**A/N: So?? Thoughts? The main question I have is this: do I need to bump up the rating from T to M? I'm not really outlining anything (obviously), but we're starting to get into some dicey water here. Personally, I think it's fine to keep it where it is because we don't _really_ know what they're up to, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Also, I have some info on the 2009 Hollywood Book Festival on my profile ... go check it out!**


	5. Christmas Shopping

**A/N: I tried uploading this yesterday afternoon, but the Document Manager was down! Anyone else have that problem? Oh, well, enjoy!**

Casey surreptitiously gathered her clothes and snuck out of Derek's room as dawn broke. _Ugh, it kills me to leave him like this! How I long for our apartment in Kingston … I should write this down into a poem. Yeah. Yeah! _She hurried up a little and scurried down the hall towards her own room.

"Casey?"

Casey jumped, her eyes scanning the dim hallway. "Liz! What the hell? You scared me!"

"Casey, what are you doing coming out of Derek's room? Did you … oh, my gosh, did you _sleep_ there last night?!"

"Uh …" Casey wracked her brain, searching for an answer. _Shoot, I don't have a good answer for her. I better just tell her the truth. The short truth though … no details._

"Yeah, I did." Casey tried to move past Lizzie into her own room.

"But why, Casey? His room is so … gross. How can you even stand to be on his floor?"

Casey breathed a quiet sigh of relief. _She didn't think we were in the same bed. Sweet. _"Well, it was pretty disgusting, Liz, but I got over it. I wasn't there for very long anyway."

"But Casey, you went upstairs before I did last night, and you're just now coming out of Derek's room. That's like, seven hours or something." Lizzie looked at Casey, puzzlement etched on her face.

"Liz, just because I went upstairs doesn't mean that I was in Derek's room the whole time." _Which is true … I went to my room to journal for a little bit first._ "And I'm not now. And I'm going to bed."

"OK, whatever, Casey," Lizzie said, annoyed. "You and Derek have this weird new relationship, I get it. But it's creeping me and Edwin out, and we're going to figure out what's going on between you two. Before it throws off the family balance even more." She spun around and left.

Casey watched her sister walk away, feeling a little badly about using a sharp tongue with her sister. _Liz didn't deserve that, _Casey thought miserably, _and she and Edwin will figure it out … they always do. OK, Case, just hold on for four more days … you can do it! _We_ can do it. We have to._ With a sigh, she went into her room and shut the door. _Wait, _what_ family dynamic? And how are we throwing it off? So weird … _

A few hours later, Casey emerged from her room, freshly showered and primped to perfection for the upcoming day. Clutched in her left hand was her trusty notepad, which contained her Christmas shopping list for her family members. It was completely out of character for Casey to wait so long to do her Christmas shopping—she usually had it done in October—but she had been a little distracted lately.

"Mom," Casey yelled down the stairs to the basement bedroom, "can I borrow the car today?"

"Casey, I'm up here," Nora said, waddling up behind Casey from the kitchen. She was due at the end of the month, and just the short trip from the kitchen to the living room was proving to be difficult.

"Mom, hey," Casey said, turning around. "Do you mind if I borrow the car today? I need to get some shopping done."

"Christmas shopping? That's so unlike you, Case. You usually have this done by October at the latest."

Casey replied, "Yeah, I know, but I've been so busy at university. This program is really tough to get into, and I just wanted to do my best, you know?"

"Oh, I know, sweetie, and I wish I could help you, but George took the car to work today."

"Why is George working today?" Casey asked. "Christmas is in three days!"

"Yeah, I know, but he's got kind of a heavy case load right now. Who knew that winter was immigration season? If it were me, I'd pick a slightly warmer country to flee to." Nora giggled and took a deep breath.

"Are you OK, Mom?" Casey asked, grabbing Nora's arm.

"Oh, I'm fine, honey, I just need to sit down." Nora walked laboriously over to the couch and plopped down. "As for the car, why don't you ask Derek if you can borrow the Prince?"

"Did I hear my name?" Derek asked, galumphing down the stairs and jumping onto the landing.

Casey whirled around and tried to catch her breath. Derek was fresh from the shower, his hair still a little damp and swept to the side. He was dressed in his standard uniform of graphic t-shirt, jeans, wrist cuffs, and leather necklace, but somehow, he still managed to look as wildly sexy as ever. And, as always, he had a slightly mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

"Yes, Derek," Nora answered, "I was just suggesting to Casey that she ask you to borrow the Prince so that she can finish her Christmas shopping. George took the car to work today, so we're without a vehicle."

"No can do, Nora, I have plans." Derek swung around the post and towards the kitchen. "Is there anything to eat in this house?"

Casey tried to hide her confusion. _What could be possibly be doing today? And at this hour? It's vacation and it's not even noon. What is he up to? Hmm … or, right, I'm probably supposed to react to this._ Casey screwed up her face and turned towards Nora.

"Mom, this is so unfair! I _need_ to get my shopping done, and I own part of the Prince." She stomped her foot on the ground theatrically. "Can you please make him give me the keys?"

"Sorry, Casey, but you two are just going to have to work this out between the two of you. Ugh, I can't wait for you two to go back to school."

"Mom!"

"Oh, you know what I mean, honey. You just seem to get along so much better there. It must be Sam. How is he, by the way?"

"He's fine," Casey muttered darkly, glaring at the kitchen.

Derek sauntered back into the room, gnawing on a croissant. "And I'm going to see him today, which is why I need the car."

"Derek, it's ten in the morning. Sam's probably not even awake." Casey tried to channel her faux anger at Derek, feeling herself fail miserably.

"Yeah, I know, but we were going to head up to the rink for a pickup game. We talked about it last night. I have time to drop you off at the mall, if you want a ride." Derek winked at Casey.

_Ohhh … now I get it,_ Casey thought. _Wait, what? _"Um, sure … I guess. Mom, are you going to be OK here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You go do what you need to do." Nora shifted on the couch, a slight sheen of sweat breaking on her forehead.

"Well, OK …" Casey turned to Derek. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready when you are, Case."

"You two have fun!" Nora called after them.


	6. The Missing Journal

**A/N: Ah, shoot, I was really hoping to hit 40 reviews before posting this next chapter, but I couldn't wait. I'm a few chapters ahead in writing, and there's so much tension that I can't STAND keeping it to myself! Enjoy the next installment, and thanks for all the feedback so far!**

"So what's really going on, Derek?" Casey asked, shifting her body towards Derek as they sped towards the mall.

Derek grinned at his girlfriend and took her hand. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Um, actually, I would, that's why I asked."

"Don't be so serious, Casey. If you must know, I had two things in mind. First, I actually do have to get some shopping done, but I didn't really want the fam to know that. Second, I knew you were going out today, and I wanted to try to spend some more time with you." Derek waggled his eyebrows at Casey.

"Again? Derek, that's three times in two days. Don't you think we're overdoing it a little?"

"Case. In case you forgot, I'm a guy. If you're willing, I'm able."

"De-REK"

Derek laughed at Casey's outburst and began gently stroking her left thigh. Even though they had just spent most of the previous night together, it was still really nice to have her all to himself. _No George looking over my shoulder, no Nora groaning like a beached whale, no Edwin busting in on me, no Lizzie looking for sisterly advice, no Marti … well, being a curious, weird little kid. Just us. _He smiled at her and entwined his hand in hers.

"You think that's funny, huh?" Case demanded. "Do you think I'm just an object … or … _receptacle _or something?"

"Geez, Case, no! It was a joke!"

"Oh." Casey turned pink and took her hand out of Derek's.

Derek reached back over and laced his fingers through hers again. "Don't be embarrassed, baby, it wasn't a very nice thing for me to say. Forgive me?" He peered at her with big, innocent eyes.

"Well … okay," Casey acquiesced. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"I thought we'd go do our Christmas shopping."

"Well, yeah, but how do you want to do it? Do you like to shop geographically or by person? And how often do you stop for food and bathroom breaks? I personally like to stop for a smoothie after the first hour and then"—

"CASEY. It's shopping, not brokering an international business deal. Let's just go and see what's available."

"But Derek! I already have my list of _the_ perfect gifts made! If I can't find one of these gifts, then I have to go somewhere else, and that takes time, and I _need to be on a schedule!_"

"Do you do this every year?" Derek asked, eying Casey warily.

"Well, yeah. What do you do?"

"Honestly? I make Edwin do my shopping."

"Oh, that explains a lot," Casey said.

"Thanks," Derek answered wryly. "Anyway, this year, I wanted to do it myself. Ed would figure out that something was up if I told him to get you what I want to get you this year."

"Oooh, whadja get me?" Casey asked, bouncing up and down.

"Nothing yet. Which is why we're shopping. And we're here."

Several hours later, Casey and Derek arrived home and unpacked their days' pulls from the car. They had both managed to get all of their shopping done, and were staring at the trunk, packed to the gills with bags and boxes.

"So, Derek," Casey said, turning to Derek, "how are you going to explain all of your bags?"

Derek had an answer at the ready: "Easy. I'm going to tell them that they're yours."

"You're going to do what? Oh, my gosh, Derek, they're going to think that I've gone crazy at university!"

"Well, you kind of did," Derek answered, chuckling as he sidestepped Casey's off-balance swat. "You agreed to date me, right?"

"That's true," Casey mused, "but seriously. If I claim these bags as yours, then it's going to look like I went WAY overboard."

"Fine, how about this? I say that you offered to do my shopping for me, since I never managed to get it done on time without Edwin's help."

"Or," Casey replied, "I say that you _paid_ me to do your shopping. Like a personal shopper."

"Yeah, that sounds like me," Derek said, cupping his chin in his right hand and his right elbow in his left. "OK. Let's do this."

The two teens tottered their way into the house, carrying as much as they could in one trip. Derek slammed the door behind him, kicking it with his foot, and followed Casey into the house. Her hair swung behind her, rippling down her back in a golden-brown cascade of curls. She moved with a dancer's grace, each step choreographed and rehearsed to perfection.

Derek shook his head to clear it and followed Casey up the stairs. He arrived at his room and went to open the door, but found that the door was already cracked. _Hmm, that's weird, I must have forgotten to shut it before I left. I guess lack of sleep will do that to you._

Derek went in and stopped. A quick survey of the room told him everything he needed to know: someone had been in there.

"Edwin," Derek whispered.

Derek dropped his bags and rushed out the door. He ran smack-bang into Casey, who looked as frantic as he felt. "Case, was someone in your room too?"

"Yeah, and whoever it was took my journal!"

"Shit, Casey, did you write anything incriminating in there?"

"Of course I did! I write down my deepest, darkest secrets in there! Everyone knows to leave it alone on pain of death, and _someone took it!_ I can't believe it!"

"Damnit, Casey, how could you be so dumb?"

"Me? What about you? You're the one with the stupid story about the transvestite project for school; classes don't even start until after the break!"

"Well … shoot!" Derek huffed in exasperation. _She's so right, that was the worst lie I've ever come up with. Everyone is so on to us. And if they weren't before, they are now. Stupid Casey and her stupid journal. Stupid! _"What are we going to do?"


	7. The Secret's Out

**A/N: Well, I had some mixed reviews about the last chapter due to the lack of action ... I'm thinking that I might get a few of the same types for this chapter since the main revelation is ... oh, wait, read and find out!**

Casey lay in bed anxiously, thinking about her missing journal. _This isn't anything like when my dream journal went missing. This is my real journal, the one with everything in it. EVERYTHING. A full account of our first kiss (and John was so right, that WAS a crazy game of poker). A full account of our first night together in our apartment. Even a full account of last night! No one needs to read that! NO ONE! Ugh, I WILL find out who did this!_ Casey got up from her bed and yanked open the door.

"LIZZIE!" Casey shouted at the top of her lungs.

"What? You don't have to yell, Casey, I'm right here," Lizzie said, emerging from her bedroom.

"Have you seen my journal? It's missing."

"No, why? Anything interesting in there?" Lizzie asked innocently.

"No. Why? Why would you think that?" Casey looked at her younger sister with suspicion.

"Well, you seem awfully anxious about it, more than usual. Something must be up. Something about … you and Derek, maybe?"

"No! Me and Derek? Ugh, no way, what makes you think that?" Casey faked a shudder.

"Aha! Something _is_ going on between you and Derek! I knew it! Wait until I tell Edwin." Lizzie started off towards the stairs to the attic.

"Liz! Stop! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Then what are _you_ talking about, Casey? Just tell me. You used to tell me everything. Sisters, right? That's what I'm here for, to listen to you when you have a problem. And you clearly have one right now, so just tell me."

"OK, fine, Lizzie, but you can't tell anyone." Casey grabbed Lizzie by the arm and dragged her into her room.

"OK, Liz, here it is. But you have to promise not to freak out."

"Promise. So what's the deal?" Lizzie asked, turning her full attention to her older sister.

Casey shifted her weight nervously. "Derek and I … we're kind of … dating."

"Casey! What? You and—what? Ew! That's so gross!" Lizzie looked at Casey with disgust.

"Wait, what? Liz, what's so gross about it?"

"Casey, he's our _brother_. You can't date your brother. That's like … me dating Edwin!"

"Ew, Liz, dating Derek is _so_ not like dating Edwin. Dating Derek is … well, it's really nice. He's actually really sweet and kind to me, which is a huge change after all these years. Dating Edwin would just be smelly."

"Casey, that's not the point. The point is that you are my sister and Derek is my stepbrother and you should _not_ be dating!"

"STEPbrother, Liz. We're not related to the Venturis."

"Casey, our mom is married to their dad, and she's pregnant with George's kid. Our _brother or sister._ That makes us related. Oh, ew, wait until I tell Edwin _this_ one." Lizzie turned to leave the room.

"Liz!" Casey grabbed Lizzie by the arm. "You can't tell Edwin! This is between you and me! And you promised not to freak out!"

"Yeah, that was when I thought you were getting bad grades or were having some innocent boy trouble, not doing our brother."

"Doing—what? Liz, that stuff is my business. Not yours. And clearly, you can't handle this. So get out."

"Fine, I'm leaving." Lizzie stormed out of the room.

Casey slammed the door shut behind Lizzie and stomped off to her bed. _I can't believe her! She promised not to freak out, and she gets all righteous on me. Please, like I haven't seen the way that she and Edwin look at each other. I swear, if they weren't kids when we all moved in together, they would probably be the ones in this situation right now. It's not THAT weird, is it? No one else seems to think so … then again, no one at school knows that we're stepsiblings. Except Sam, who really doesn't seem to care. Wait … what if she really does tell Edwin?_

Frantic, Casey jumped up from the bed and wrenched the door open. "You better not tell Edwin any of this, Lizzie!"

"Tell Edwin what?" Derek asked, emerging from his room.

"Uh …" Casey hesitated. "I … kind of … IkindoftoldLizzieaboutyouandIdatingandthenshereallyfreakedoutandsheyelledatmeandtoldmethatIwasasickpersonfordatingmybrotherbutyournotreallymybrotheryour'remystepbrotheranditdoesn'treallycountevenifMomispregnantwithGeorge'sbaby!" The words rushed out of Casey in one big whoosh.

"Whoa, Case, slow down!" Derek grabbed Casey's upper arms. "Go back. Start at the beginning. Slow down. Breathe."

Casey took a deep breath. _Oh, man, he's going to hate me for this one._ "Derek, I told Lizzie that you and I are dating."

"You did _what?!_" Derek exclaimed.

"Hold on! She kind of pressured me in to it. Besides, you guys know how I get when my journal is missing! I need some way to get rid of the emotional pressure!"

"Case, that's when you read a book or take a bath or punch something, not spill all to your nosy little sister!"

"_My_ nosy sister? What about Edwin? He probably put her up to this!"

"You're right, he probably did—he was even in my room tonight trying to pump me for information. But _I_ didn't spill my guts. _You_ did."

"Whatever. Sue me. The point here is that now Lizzie knows, and she's going to tell Edwin, and we are _so screwed_!"

"No." Derek shook his head and started pacing the hallway. "We're not screwed yet. George and Nora don't know. Yet. So we just have to find a way to keep Lizzie from talking. You work on keeping her happy. I'll work on intimidation. Between the two of us, we should be able to keep her from talking. I hope."

"Yeah, me too," Casey said quietly.

"Well, Case, whatever. We just have to keep George and Nora from finding out."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Well, you work on your part. As for me, I have a plan. Now, do you want to come play tonight or what?"

Casey sighed, relieved that he wasn't really mad at her. _If it was me, I would have been FURIOUS with him. You know, this is what makes him such a great boyfriend; I don't care what Lizzie says, he's awesome. And to be honest, I better try to keep him happy for the next few days if he's going to stay that way._

"Give me a few minutes to freshen up and I'll be there."

**A/N: OK, so the main revelation is that Lizzie now knows about Casey and Derek. She doesn't have the journal, but who does?**


	8. Another One Bites the Dust

**A/N: I know--another update! And so soon! But I'm going on a family vacay soon and wanted to get at least one more chapter up before we took off, so here it is. I hope it tides you over until we get back and/or I have full internet access again.**

**On a side note, anyone here use FictionPress? I've been working on some original stuff and would like some feedback, and the communities to which I belong currently are ... well, slow. Thoughts?**

Derek lay in the dark, listening to Casey's deep, restful breathing and trying to coagulate his thoughts. The fact that Lizzie now knew—for certain—that he and Casey were dating was a big problem, and he was trying to figure out a true game plan. Lizzie didn't really fold to intimidation—as a matter of fact, she would be more likely to tell Edwin or Nora about him and Casey if she felt threatened. _Shoot, I might just have to tell Edwin and hope that he reacts better than Lizzie did,_ Derek thought. _If anything, he might be able to run interference. Plus, Edwin _does_ respond to intimidation, so it's probably better if he found out from me anyway._

Derek rose quietly, taking care not to jostle Casey. _She looks so peaceful right now. Seeing her like this, it's hard to believe that she was up until almost 3am worrying about this whole thing. It'll be fine, really … I hope, anyway. Oh, who am I kidding? If it were fine, we probably would have told Dad and Nora about it. Or not … they'd make us move out, and then Casey would be in residence on campus, and we'd never see each other. It's just better this way._

Derek closed the door behind him and tiptoed down the hall to the base of the attic stairs. He quietly climbed the staircase, skipping the third, sixth, and seventh steps. He paused, listening for any sign that Edwin might be awake, then burst into the room.

"Ahh—!" Edwin's scream was muffled by Derek's hand clamping down on his mouth.

"Shh. Listen up, Ed, and no one gets hurt. Are you listening?" Edwin nodded frantically.

"Good," Derek said. "Now, I'm going to tell you this, and it stays between us, got it? No telling Lizzie, or any of the other family members, for that matter.

"Casey and I are dating, and have been since right before university started. Despite what I may have led you to believe, she's actually really awesome, and we have a really good relationship. As a matter of fact, I might be in"—Derek choked on the word a little—"love with her. So give me back her journal, and I'll let you keep breathing. Understand?"

Edwin nodded quickly.

"Good." Derek let go, and Edwin took a deep breath.

"Geez, bro, you almost suffocated me!" Edwin said, still breathing heavily. "OK, so let me get this straight. You—Derek Venturi—are dating our sister, Casey McDonald. And have been for months now. And you're just now telling me _and_ you want me to keep quiet? I don't buy it. What's going on?"

Derek sighed. "Fine. Casey told Lizzie, and I thought you needed to hear it from me, not her."

Edwin nodded. "Oh, I see. So if Casey hadn't told Lizzie, then you wouldn't have told me?"

_Shit, he's good!_ Derek thought. _I better just shoot straight with him right now._ "No, probably not. This is kinda between me and Casey, and we'd like to keep it that way."

"OK, I can do that. For a price," Edwin said, holding out his hand.

"A price? Please, Edwin, the only price that I'm going to pay for you to keep your mouth shut on this is not pummeling you for stealing Casey's journal. Or for being in my room earlier today without permission. So just give me the journal, and we'll forget this whole thing happened."

"Sorry, bro, but I don't have her journal. I've already learned that lesson."

"Alright, Ed, I'll leave it alone for now. But if she doesn't get it back by tomorrow night, you're dead anyway. So find it."

Derek left Edwin's room and went back to his own, ready to finally get some sleep. Between the shopping, Casey's meltdown, and their little sleepover party, he was really worn out and just needed some some fluids, for that matter. He slipped back into bed beside Casey and snuggled into the soft curves of her body. She sighed and rolled over, throwing her left leg over his body and nestling her head into the crevice between his chin and shoulder. Derek felt her warm breath tickling his chest, and, completely happy, fell into a deep sleep.

Derek awoke several hours later to an empty bed and a folded piece of paper on the pillow next to him. He picked it up and unfolded it, then smiled when he read its contents:

[Dear Derek,

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! I got up early to wrap presents, and as an early Christmas present, I'm going to wrap all of yours too. I can't wait—Christmas in two days, New York in three! And then we can FINALLY just be ourselves. Alone. John and Courtney have our room waiting for us, and they are SO excited to see us again! I'm excited to see them too, but not as excited as I am to spend a week in America alone with you. I have a VERY special surprise for you then … you'll see 

Love,

Casey]

Derek rolled out of bed and threw on his pajama bottoms, which had been abandoned the night before. He grabbed a t-shirt from a stack sitting on his dresser. _Wait, that's weird,_ Derek thought. _Clean laundry? In my room? Did Casey do this? No … this isn't how she folds my shirts. This must have been Nora. But Dad said she hasn't cleaned anything for months. And she's _huge_. Why would she be doing laundry?_

Perplexed, Derek pulled the shirt over his head and went downstairs. When he arrived at the landing, he rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving him. The living room was spotless. There was a plate at his spot that was loaded up with breakfast stuffs: a tall stack of buckwheat pancakes, maple syrup, and peameal bacon. No one was around.

Suddenly, a big clang came from the kitchen. "Shoot!" a muffled voice muttered.

"Nora?" Derek asked, heading towards the kitchen.

"Oh, hi, Derek. Your breakfast is on the table." Nora's head popped out from around the doorframe.

"Yeah, I can see that … what are you doing?"

"Oh, the cabinets needed reorganizing, and I'm doing the one with the pots and pans. Did you know that we had a maple-leaf-shaped griddle?" Nora held up the novelty Teflon pan.

"Uh, no … you're acting weird, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just had all this extra energy, so I decided to do a little cleaning. I did yours and Casey's rooms yesterday, and I'm going to handle Lizzie's and Marti's today. Edwin's … I may wait on that one for a little bit."

_Oh, so _that's_ where the laundry came from! Awesome. I love Housecleaning Nora._

"Good call, Nora. OK, thanks for breakfast; I'm going to go eat." Derek turned back towards the dining room and saw Lizzie eying him warily.

"Morning, Liz … everything OK?"

"Yeah, everything's fine with me. You?" Lizzie asked sharply.

"Yep. Hey, have you seen Casey this morning?"

"Why, so you can do some sick, depraved thing to her, you pervert?"

"Whoa, Liz, shhh!" Derek grabbed her by the arm. "Can you keep it down?"

"Get your hands off of me, Derek! You are so gross! What were you thinking, defiling my sister? You're sick, you know that? Really sick." Lizzie brushed off Derek's hand and ran upstairs.

Casey rushed past Lizzie on the staircase, practically slamming into her in her rush to get downstairs. "Has anyone seen the ribbon curler? I need the ribbon curler!" She ran into the mudroom, rummaged around noisily, and ran back out, gripping something in her hand. "Got it!" she yelled as she dashed up the steps.

Derek plopped down in his chair and stared at his massive breakfast. _What is _wrong_ with the McDonald women today?_


	9. The Journal Surfaces

**A/N: Hey ... we're still on vacation, but I managed to find a brief moment in which to update. So I hope you like it! I probably won't be responding to PMs or reviews since my internet time is limited, but please know that I am reading them and I really appreciate all the feedback. Now, on with the story!**

Casey put the final wrapped box on her massive stack of wrapped boxes and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. _There_, she thought,_ it took me all day, but I'm done. Now to go see what Derek's doing. I wonder if he got my note this morning?_

Casey heaved herself off the floor and meandered down the hall towards Derek's room. She knocked quietly, and, hearing nothing, opened the door and went in.

Derek was lying on his bed, headphones on and drumming out a beat with his fingers. He was only half-dressed, and his normally-messy hair was slightly less messy. Casey tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped.

"Casey! Good, you're here. What shirt should I wear tonight?" Derek held up two shirts and looked at her expectantly.

"Um, what?" Casey asked.

"Which shirt should I wear tonight?" Derek held the shirts up again.

"Um … the one on the right. The blue one. What's going on?"

"Not telling. Go get dressed and meet me downstairs in ten minutes."

"What? Why?!" Casey demanded.

"Just do it. And no skirts."

"Fine." Casey turned around and stomped out of Derek's room in a huff. _What is he doing? What are _we _doing? He knows I hate surprises. HATE them. This better be something fun._

Nine minutes and 37 seconds later, Casey was downstairs, dressed and ready to go. She had finally settled on a nice pair of jeans, her favorite sweater, and a pair of black, stacked-heeled boots. Her hair was pulled back into a casual ponytail—she didn't have time for anything more elaborate—and her makeup was understated. _Ha, there,_ she thought smugly, _he can't pull one over on me. I'm ready for anything._

"Hey, Case, you're ready," Derek said, bounding down the stairs and landing with a thud.

"Ready for what?" Marti asked as she emerged from under the kitchen table.

"Oh, Marti … hey. Casey and I are just going out," Derek answered, scratching the back of his head with his left hand.

"Going out to do what?" Marti persisted.

"Just some … stuff," he finished lamely.

"What kind of stuff? And why are you guys going together?" Marti asked.

"Just some grown-up stuff, Marti," Casey answered, getting down to Marti's level.

"OK. But why are you going together?"

Casey looked at Derek with desperation in her eyes. _Say something!_ she silently implored him. He looked as panicked as she felt, and appeared to have frozen. _Damnit, Derek. If I only knew what we were doing, then I could lie to her! Or, at least tell her the truth and then try to get us out of here!_

"Because I asked her to," Derek answered finally.

"But why?" Marti asked.

"Because I did. Casey, ready to go?" Derek asked, walking towards the front door.

"OK, whatever, Smerek. You guys are acting weird," Marti said, returning to her spot under the table.

"Bye, Marti!" Casey called, following Derek out the front door.

"What was _that_ all about?" Casey demanded, chasing her boyfriend down the walk. "Why can't you just tell me what we're doing or where we're going?"

"Because it's a surprise, Casey. You seemed so stressed out this morning, and I wanted to plan something nice for us to do tonight."

Casey's heart melted a little, and she felt her anger dissipate. _Aww, that's so sweet! He's so amazing … why didn't we get it together any earlier? Oh, right, the whole Mom-and-George-and-the-whole-world-would-freak-out thing. Because this is weird._

"Oh, by the way, I told Ed about us," Derek casually mentioned as they backed out the driveway.

"You did _WHAT_?!" Casey shrieked, whipping her head around to face Derek.

"Well, you told Lizzie, and I wanted to get to him before she did. It's easier to intimidate him when I'm the one delivering the information. Otherwise, we'd just be blackmailed."

"What did he say? How did he react? Was he grossed out by it?" Casey fired off her questions in rapid succession without waiting for an answer.

"He didn't really say anything," Derek answered. "Actually, it was a little weird. It's like … he wasn't surprised by it. He just wanted to negotiate price."

"He wasn't surprised by it like he figured it was going on, or wasn't surprised by it like someone told him?"

"I don't know, Casey. Like I said, he just wanted to negotiate price."

"So what did you do?"

"I told him that if he didn't give back your journal, I'd beat him until he couldn't breathe anymore." Derek grinned. "Hey, have you found it yet? Nora said she did some cleaning in our rooms, so I thought she might have found it."

Casey breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good. I'll ask her about it tonight. She knows not to read my journal, so I think we're safe."

"OK, excellent. And we're here," Derek said, putting the car into park and cutting off the engine.

"Where's here?" Casey asked, peering into the inky darkness.

"You'll see," Derek answered cheekily, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Stay right there." He got out of the car, grabbed something out of the trunk, and then opened her door. "Your evening, my lady," he said as he extended his hand.

Casey put her hand in his, thankful for the warmth that he radiated. She shivered with pleasure as she got out of the car and, hand-in-hand, walked with Derek into the darkness. "Where are we going?" she asked after they had walked a few hundred feet.

"You'll see," Derek said, "but you're going to have to trust me." He hooked her arm through his. "We're going into the woods."

"We're going where?" Casey asked. _He's dragging me into the woods? Oh, my gosh, this is like a thriller movie, and I'm the victim! _"Uh uh, no way, I'm NOT going in there with you," Casey said, shaking her head.

"Just trust me, Case, we're not doing anything dangerous. Just fun. Come on."

"Fine," Casey muttered, allowing Derek to drag her through the trees, "but if something happens to me, I'm forever going to blame you."

They stumbled through the darkness in silence. Finally, they stopped and Derek spoke.

"We're here," he said, bending over.

Casey's eyes shot open wide. They were at a small, frozen-over pond, completely surrounded by trees. White fairy lights were wound around the trees and strung over the pond, lighting up the small area. Snow flurries were blowing around gently, and Casey couldn't help but get caught up in the pure, storybook romantic feeling of it all.

"Derek! How did you manage this? This is amazing!"

Derek stood up and puffed with pride. "I found this place last summer, and I've kind of been using it as an escape. I didn't want to bring someone here until I knew that I could trust them; I just didn't think that person would be you. Merry Christmas, Casey. I love you."

Casey threw herself at Derek, embracing him tightly and trying to hold back tears. This was the singularly most romantic thing that anyone had ever done for her, and she couldn't believe that it was Derek doing it. _I was wrong for so long, and this … it's just right. _She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "I love you too, Derek," and tipped her head in for a kiss.

After a few moments of kisses that got progressively hotter, they finally pried themselves apart. "So," Casey said, catching her breath and smoothing her hair back, "what are we going to do out here?"

"This," Derek said, holding up two pairs of skates.

The two of them skated and laughed for an hour or so, until Casey's toes and fingers were so cold that she couldn't feel them anymore. They packed up everything—aside from the lights, which Derek said that he would get the next day—and drove home in a happy, companionable silence. It was late, and they slipped into the dark house as quietly as possible to avoid waking anyone up. They sneaked towards the staircase, when a light flipped on.

"Casey, Derek, do you want to explain this?"

George and Nora were standing at the base of the staircase; Nora held Casey's journal in her right hand, flipped open to an entry from November.

**A/N: Dun dun dun! So NORA had the journal ... but why did she read it? She usually doesn't do these things, right? Keep reading to find out ...**


	10. Trouble

**A/N: Aww, thanks for all the great reviews! Like I said, still on vacay and don't really have time to respond, but I AM reading everything and I really appreciate it! I've been pretty lucky in that everyone has had stuff to do in the mornings, so I've been able to get on the Internet and update :-) Enjoy the next chapter!**

_Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn._

A string of _damn_s constantly ran through Derek's head as he and Casey sat in anxious, tense silence on opposite ends of the couch. George paced in front of them, occasionally stopping as if to talk to them, then huffing and resuming his pacing. Nora sat in the armchair behind George, glaring at Casey and Derek disapprovingly. Derek looked at Casey, studying the fear etched into her lovely face.

_Shoot,_ Derek thought, _this is it. This is the end. We are so dead. We are so busted._

Finally, George spoke. "What do you two think you were doing?"

Derek started to answer, "Dad, we were just"—

"No, Derek, you weren't 'just' doing anything. We read what you were doing," George answered angrily. "I am married to Casey's _mother_, Derek. She is your _stepmother_. And Casey is your _stepsister._ You do realize what that means, right? Or do I need to spell it out for you? You know, maybe I do, because you don't seem to get it. I've seen a lot of bad behavior out of you, son, but this tops everything."

"And Casey, I'm surprised at you," Nora said, heaving herself out of the chair, gasping for air with the effort. "I thought I raised you better than this; I thought you were smarter than this! But Derek? Your stepbrother? How could you?!"

"Yes, Mom, Derek," Casey answered, a hint of anger creeping into her voice. "But what I want to know is why you were reading my journal in the first place. Those are my private thoughts. You violated my privacy!"

"Now, wait a second, Casey," Nora said, taking another ragged breath, "this isn't the point here."

"Yeah, it kind of is the point!" Casey yelled, standing up and facing her mother. "Yeah, maybe what we're doing is a little unconventional. But it's private. It's our business, and it's not something that you two should be involved in! I mean, seriously, do you want us involved in your sex life? No, I think not. So stay out of ours."

Derek stared at Casey, his jaw dropped in shock. She was visibly seething, and her hair was slightly mussed from anger. Her fists were clenched, and she was, literally and figuratively, standing up to her mom in their defense. _Whoa_, Derek thought, _that is so sexy. She just said "sex" in front of my dad. And her mom! But she probably needs to back down a little … c'mon, Case, do we really want to die on this hill?_

"Casey!" Nora said with shock. "What's gotten into you?"

"Mom, what's gotten into me is that you violated my privacy, read my journal, accosted us as we were coming in from the best date of my life, and are judging me for finally following my heart and getting it together with the man that I love. Not only that, but you have the audacity to yell at me for doing the same stuff that you were doing at my age.

"And don't even try to deny it," Casey continued, holding up her hand to cut off Nora, "because I know you did. So like I said before, butt out of our sex life."

"Casey," Nora gasped, grabbing her stomach and doubling over.

"What, Mom?" Casey asked sharply, still fuming.

"I"—Nora gasped for air, trying to gulp enough to finish her sentence. "George"—

"What?" he asked, rushing to grab her and keep her upright.

"I … I think I'm going into labor!" she gasped.

"You think? Or you know?" George asked, a wave of panic washing over his face.

Nora's face contorted in pain again. "I know. Can we please go to the hospital?"

"Yes. Yes! I'll go get your things; you sit down." George lead Nora over to the armchair and eased her into it. He then whipped around and glared at Casey and Derek. "We will deal with you two later. For now, we have other things to deal with. Derek, go get the car. Casey, you're on babysitting duty. Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti are upstairs sleeping. Derek, move it!"

Derek grabbed the keys and darted out the front door, thankful for the brief stay of his and Casey's inevitable punishment. _I cannot believe this happened! I mean, good on Casey for standing up for us, but now what? We're obviously in trouble, and she's obviously going to get it for talking to Nora like that. But … we're four hours away at university. We're adults. Kind of. So what can they really do? Ground us?_

Derek mulled over the potential outcomes as he backed the car out of the garage and down the driveway. He stopped at the walk and got out of the car to help Nora out of the house and into the front seat. George followed at her heels carrying an overflowing overnight bag.

"Here," Derek said, holding out the car keys to his father, "you're all ready to go. Good luck!"

"Oh, I don't think so, Derek," George answered, repressed panic evident in his voice, "not after we found out about you and Casey. You really think that we're going to let you stay home by yourselves without any adult supervision? Please. You're driving. Get in the driver's seat."

"And hurry, please, Derek," Nora said between short, pain-controlling breaths. "I had short labors with both of my girls, and I don't think that this one is going to be any different!"

Derek slid into the front seat and buckled his seat belt. As he turned onto the road towards the hospital, he tried to tune out Nora's groans of pain and George's frantic chanting of "In two three, out two three" as he coached her through the pain of her contractions. _So this is it, huh? No more planning awesome dates for Casey, ever. No more spending time with her alone, ever. No more sneaking away to make out with her, ever. What are we going to do now?_

**A/N: Oh, the drama! Nora's having the baby, Derek and Casey are in trouble, Christmas is two days away ... SO much going on in the McDonald-Venturi household! Do you think this is going to be a Christmas Eve baby or a Christmas baby?**


	11. Marti Spills the Beans

**A/N: You guys are such amazing readers--thanks for all the great feedback! I'm a few chapters ahead, but I think I'm going to go ahead and wrap this one up within the next 3-5 chapters. I'm planning one more fic in this particular series, so there's at least 20 more chapters of this strain of Dasey to come! You know, eventually.  
**

Casey sat alone in her room, simultaneously feeling anxious, abandoned, and angry. She was worried about her mother and the entire labor process—she knew that Nora had short labors. She felt a little deserted when Derek never came back into the house, and even more so when she realized that he must have taken her mom to the hospital. But mostly, she was just angry that her George and Nora had read her most personal, innermost thoughts.

_I mean, how dare they?_ Casey thought. _I keep that journal for myself. It's for me and for me only. Unless, of course, I publish it as a memoir, but that's years in the future! That's not now, in the heat of the moment … oh, the heat! I'm never going to get that again, am I? No more going off on fabulous dates, ever. No more seeing him first thing in the morning, ever. No more sneaking off to make out with him, ever. UGH!_ Casey threw herself down on the bed and pulled a pillow over her face.

"Casey?" a small voice asked.

"What do you want, Marti?"

"I had a bad dream and I can't find Daddy. Can I come in?"

"Sure, Marti, whatever."

Marti opened the door and walked into Casey's room. "May I please get in the bed with you?"

"Fine," Casey muttered darkly.

"Casey, what's wrong? Was it not fun going out with Derek?"

"No, Marti, that's not the problem. Going out with Derek was fun."

"That's so weird, you guys never have fun together. Or, you didn't have fun together. Now it's like you only want to hang out with each other. Is that what happens when you go to university?"

Casey sighed and thought, _I better just tell her, since everyone else knows now._ "No, not really, Marti. See, Derek and I started dating right before university started, and George and my mom just found out. They're really mad at us, and I'm really mad at them, but we can't really do anything about it because Mom went into labor."

"What does that mean?" Marti asked.

"It means she's going to have the baby."

"Really? Oh, that's so cool! But what about you and Derek? Why are they so mad?"

"You know, Marti, I don't really know," Casey answered. "I guess it's because we're stepsiblings and we've lived together for so long. That, and we live together now. I guess they think it's inappropriate." _No need to tell her HOW inappropriate …_

"What's that mean?"

"It means 'not appropriate or not acceptable,' sweetie," Casey said.

"But what's inaproptet about you and Derek dating?"

"Inappropriate. And really, Marti, nothing. We're not related by blood, only through marriage, and really, we can't help who our parents marry, right?"

"Well, yeah, but now we have a brother or sister for all of us."

Casey sighed again, more heftily this time. "I know, Marti, but even if the baby is related to both Derek and me by blood, _we're _still not related. Do you get it?"

"I think so. But it _is_ weird, Casey."

"It is?"

"Well, yeah? Why start dating now when you should have dated him four years ago?"

Casey looked at Marti in shock. "What do you mean?"

"Um … nothing …" Marti said, looking down at the quilt.

"Marti! Come on, tell me!"

"But I promised Derek I wouldn't."

"Marti, honey, I'm sure that he wouldn't mind now. And he's not here, so you can tell me now and ask him later."

"Um … OK … but if he gets mad at me, I'm telling him you made me do it."

"That's fine. So what did you mean by that?" Casey leaned forward expectantly.

"Well"—Marti hesitated—"it's just that Derek came home from school that day that he met you and was really happy. When I asked him why, he said it was because he met a really pretty girl at school. I asked him if he was going to ask her on a date, but he said no because the time wasn't right. And then when Daddy and Nora got married, he pointed to you and told me that you were the really pretty girl and that he was really sad because he couldn't ask you out now. But he told me never to tell anyone, especially you, so …" Marti took a deep breath and returned her gaze to Casey's quilt.

Casey sat back in astonishment. "But … but we fought all the time!"

"Yeah, I know, but don't you fight now?"

"Well, yeah …" Casey trailed off.

"Then it's not really different, except that you're dating now, right?"

"I guess …"

"Then you should have started dating four years ago. Hey, Casey?"

"Yes, Marti?"

"Do you and Derek kiss?"

"Um …" Casey blushed and looked down. _If only she knew … _"Yes, Marti, we do."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes, I do."

"Are you going to have a baby with him?"

"No! And I apparently never will."

"Do you want to have a baby with him?"

Casey thought for a moment, and then answered, "You know, Marti, I never really thought about it, but yeah, I think I do. Or I did. Or I still do but know it won't happen. Or … something." Casey sighed.

"Well, if you do have babies, I want to be the favorite aunt. OK?" Marti hopped off the bed and went to the door. "And I think I'm better now. Good night!"

"Um, 'night, Marti," Casey said, still reeling from Marti's information.

_Wow, so Derek's been in love with me all along, huh? I can't believe he's never told me! Ha, like he would—he's still not great at telling me his feelings. He's more of a show-er … in more ways than one._ Casey grinned to herself at her little joke. _But still. None of this is going to matter if Mom and George really disapprove of us._

Casey jumped at the sound of her phone beeping. She saw who is was and flipped her phone open to read the text message.

From: Derek  
Had to drive Dad and Nora to hospital. Shes checked in, everythings fine. Will come home when Dad lets me. Love you.

Casey texted him back:  
OK. Come home soon. I love you too.

She flipped her phone shut, turned out the light, and laid in the darkness waiting for sleep.

**A/N: So Marti ships Dasey. As we all know, Marti's opinion counts for a lot in the McDonald-Venturi family, so this could be good for the couple!**


	12. Casey Thanks Derek

**A/N: May I get on my soapbox for a minute?**

**OK, you're still with me? Good. I have to get on my soapbox about reviews. But first, I do need to thank all of the wonderful people that leave me feedback. I swear, if I didn't have this kind of encouragement, I wouldn't be as motivated as I am to write well. Oh, I'd still write, but knowing that there are literally hundreds of people waiting for an update makes me want to try to put a quality piece out there. So thanks!**

**But here's the thing about reviews: they are left by people that want to comment, right? Reviews are little gifts from the reader to the author, right? And not something that the author should demand, right?**

**I read a beautifully-written piece the other day, one that kept me up until 1:00am. Seriously, awesome piece of work, but at the beginning of almost every chapter was a plea for reviews. And then, at the end of one, the author completely berated people for not reviewing, basically stating that if (s)he didn't get more reviews, then (s)he was going to stop writing the story.**

**Call me crazy, but a writer writes. It doesn't matter if one person reads it or 1,000 people read it, a writer writes for the joy of writing. I just think it's crazy (and a little pretentious, to be honest) to sit there and demand that people evaluate your work. Isn't that the right of the reader? I'll tell you something, for my last chapter, less than 5% of the people that read it reviewed it. But, looking at the traffic, I had a ton of visitors to that chapter alone! And the number of hits? From the varying countries? I'm so thrilled. Also, whoever is from Monaco, your country fascinates me ... but that's a different story all together.**

**Maybe a super-long author's note at the beginning of a crappy chapter (sorry, been a little sleep-deprived and am having trouble writing coherently) isn't the forum for this, but (a) I really had to get this off my chest and (b) I'm curious to know how the inhabitants of the LwD fandom felt about this topic. Any thoughts?**

**And finally, thank you/merci/Danke/gracias/dhanyavaad/grazie/Dank U/obrigada/gum xia/terima kasih/dziekuje/salamat/Tanke/koszonom/spasibo/arigato/multumesc/blagodarya/si yuus maasi/shukran/faleminderit for reading! Did I get everyone?**

***steps off soapbox***

Derek sat in the waiting room of the hospital, smiling at Casey's message. _She loves me too! Why do I always feel so great when she says that?_ His grin grew wider.

"Derek?"

Derek flipped his phone shut and sprung up. "Yeah, Dad?"

"It looks like Nora's going to be a while, so you should go home and get some sleep. But go straight home and go straight to your own bed. No climbing in with Casey, you hear me?"

"Got it." Derek fished in his pocket for the car keys.

"Oh, and Derek?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"We're not done with this conversation. Just so you know."

Derek sighed. "Got it, Dad."

He sped home in the darkness, maneuvering around snowdrifts that had started to form in the street during the night. It had started to snow gently while they were in the hospital, and the blustery wind was kicking up flurries of delicate snowflakes. There was no one on the road during the pre-dawn of Christmas Eve, and Derek had plenty of time to think.

He didn't want to think, though; there was too much going on in the McDonald-Venturi household. The baby was coming. He and Casey were in a shedload of trouble. Lizzie hated them. Marti still had no idea what was happening. _I suppose we should fill her in, _he mused.

When he arrived home, the house was still. Everyone was still asleep, and in the lightening gray, he could see the outline of presents already under the tree. _Aww, Casey must have put them there after she wrapped them … silly girl, doesn't she know better by now?_

With a mischievous grin, Derek went over to the pile and started to dig through the boxes. When he found the one to him from Casey, he mentally high-fived himself. _Jackpot!_ He rotated the box, looking for a loose corner.

Nothing. Casey had double-taped everything with industrial-strength tape. _Damnit, she knows me too well!_ Casey had sealed his present tighter than a royal decree from Queen Elizabeth herself.

"Aha! I knew you'd try to get in there!" Casey's voice drifted down the staircase.

Derek whipped around with a huge grin that melted off his face when he saw Casey. She had her hair piled on top of her head with soft ringlets framing her face, and she was wearing a pair of red satin tap pants with a loosely flowing camisole. _And look at the rest of her … yow!_

Derek watched her slink slowly down the stairs, unable to take his eyes off her lithe frame. It was in these moments that he found her the most irresistible; when she showed him a new side of herself. He wanted to drink in every moment that they had, especially because those moments were probably numbered.

"Derek," Casey breathed seductively.

"Y-y-y-yes?" he stuttered, feeling his blood rush throughout his body.

"Come to bed with me," she demanded breathily.

"I-I-I-I can't," he answered, still stuttering and letting his eyes roam the wide expanses of her exposed flesh.

"Why not?" Casey asked, taking a closer step still.

"Dad told me not to get into bed with you."

"And since when do you listen to him?"

Derek's voice was firm. "Casey. We're in a lot of trouble here. Nora's having a baby. This is not the time to try to mess with my dad. He'll kill me."

"Fine. Did he say anything about me getting into bed with you?" she purred.

"No …" Derek's mind was reeling. _I know he didn't say that, but isn't it implied? And what the hell, Casey, you are being so … BAD._ He shivered with expectation.

"Then let's go to your room," Casey breathed, finally entering Derek's personal space and tipping her face towards his.

"Casey … what the hell? Why now? With all the trouble we're in?"

"Don't be mad," Casey said, looking up at him coyly through her lashes, "but Marti told me what you said to her about me when we first met."

_No! Marti …_

"Marti," Derek growled, curling his hand into a fist.

"I was so touched by that, Derek, that, well, I wanted to show you how I've felt about you. Not quite as long as you, I don't think, but almost. And Mom and George are going to be gone for a while, so … you coming?" Casey tipped her head towards the stairs expectantly.

"Well … hell yeah I am! Woo hoo!" Derek grabbed Casey's hand and led her upstairs.

Derek stroked Casey's head, her hair splayed over his chest and gleaming in the bright morning light. The sun reflected off the light dusting of snow that had finally settled on the ground, and lit up the entire neighborhood. _Mmm … _ Derek thought, _I will never be able to get over _this._ Waking up next to Casey … it's my favorite part of the day. Hey, I wonder … _Derek gently shook Casey awake.

"Case?" he whispered.

Casey lifted her head and groggily answered, "What?"

"What exactly did you write in that journal of yours?"

"Well ... what I always write. My innermost thoughts and feelings. And a little poetry."

Derek smiled. _Of course she would write poetry. This is Casey._ "OK, Casey, but what exactly? I mean, we haven't quite gone _there_ yet, so what's there to write about?"

"Where's _there_, Derek?" Casey asked in a teasing voice, sitting up and shaking her head.

"You know where, Casey."

Casey laughed and slid closer to him. "Honey, if you can't say it, then we're never going _there_, as you so eloquently put it."

Derek glared at her. "Fine. Sex. We've never really had sex. So what exactly can you put in your journal?"

"Everything else. Derek, just because we haven't had vaginal sex doesn't mean we're not sexually active. Come on, didn't you pay attention in health class? Besides, do you need to have sex when I do this?" Casey leaned over and planted small, feather-light kisses in the crevice between his neck and his collarbone.

Derek shivered, struggling to maintain his composure. _That feels SOOOO good … mmm … keep going … wait, no! Stop! This is a serious conversation … oh … OK, keep going … yeah, right there … mmm …._

Derek took a deep breath, then spoke: "Well … no. Not really. But isn't that beside the point? If we're not doing it, how can Dad and Nora be so mad?"

Casey shrugged, maintaining her pattern of light kisses down the length of his torso. "I guess it's because they don't want to think about their kids doing anything, especially because they're married," she mumbled. "Besides, I put in a few things that haven't happened yet."

Derek looked down at her in surprise. "What kinds of things?" he asked.

Casey turned a beguiling eye on him. "Oh, you know … stuff I wish would happen … like fantasies …" she said before resuming her southern trajectory.

Derek shook his head in amazement. _Casey McDonald, you surprise me again. Oh, right there!_

**A/N: I don't think we covered this last chapter ... Marti ships Dasey, woo hoo! Will that turn the tide for our heroes? We'll find out soon!**


	13. Race to the Hospital

**A/N: Wow ... so clearly, a lot of people have opinions on demanding reviews or holding stories hostage in exchange for more reviews. The conclusion, or my perceived conclusion, is that most people don't like that kind of behavior. And, according to DisforDasey, this is actually up for discussion at Dasey Nation right now (.****), so if you want to get involved, go check it out.**

**Also, we're back from vacation (finally!), so I'll be able to start replying to reviews a little bit more now. For everyone that's been reviewing, thank you. I really love reading what you have to say, and I love that you enjoy my writing so much! I love doing it, and I don't plan to stop any time soon! Now, enjoy the second-to-last chapter in _Dirty Little Secret_!  
**

Casey slipped back to her room just as her cell phone was beeping. She flipped open her phone and read the message; suddenly, Casey was a blur of activity. She ripped off her seduction gear, grabbed her shower caddy and towel, and darted towards the bathroom. As she was running down the hall, she slammed squarely into Derek.

"Derek," she gasped, apprehension in her eyes.

"Did you get it too?"

"Yeah, I did. Let's go. Can you get the kids ready?"

"I need to shower first. We both need to. Wanna share?" he asked, his hand on the doorknob.

"De-REK! This isn't the time for that!" Casey shrieked in an exasperated tone.

"Casey, I know, that's not what I meant. We just need to get moving as fast as possible, and we can save time by jumping in together."

Casey thought for a moment before replying. "OK, good point. But no messing around, Derek, we've got to run."

As soon as Casey shut off the water, both she and Derek were in another flurry of activity. They quickly dried themselves off and tore out of the bathroom in separate directions.

"Lizzie, Marti!" Casey yelled.

"Ed, get up!" Derek bellowed.

Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti materialized in the hallway, rubbing sleep out of their eyes and looking from Derek to Casey in confusion. Finally, Edwin spoke: "Uh … did you guys just … _shower_ together?"

"Not the point here, Ed. We have to get to the hospital, pronto. Ed, you use Dad and Nora's shower. Lizzie, you shower up here. Marti, you took a bath last night, right?"

"Sure did, Smerek!" Marti answered.

"Good. So you go get dressed, everyone else shower and get ready, and be down for breakfast in fifteen minutes. Ready? Go!"

Casey looked at Derek in awe. _He just … _commanded_ that situation. He took control! He … well, he did what I usually do. Took charge. And you know what? I don't mind. That was _really_ hot._

"Derek," Casey said breathlessly.

"Yeah, Case?" Derek asked, turning his torso towards her.

"That was … masterful," she answered, taking a step towards him.

Derek blushed. "Thanks, Casey."

"No, I mean, it was _really_ masterful." She took another step towards him.

"Casey, I thought you said we didn't have time for messing around?"

"Just five minutes?"

"No! Come on, Casey, we have to go. Now you go too!"

"Hey, don't tell me what to do!"

"I thought you liked it when I told you what to do." Derek winked.

Casey laughed. "OK, in this case, yes. I'm going. See you downstairs in a few minutes."

Casey dashed into her room and threw on the first thing that she touched. She scrapped her hair back into a high bun, dusted on a little face powder, applied a touch of mascara—just the bare minimum—and ran downstairs to help Derek fix breakfast for the kids.

He was already downstairs, pouring cereal into five bowls and chasing it with milk. Casey headed straight to the coffee pot and poured out yesterday's leftovers, preparing the maker for a new pot.

"Casey, we don't really have time for that," Derek said, turning towards her.

"Derek, by the time the kids get down here and eat, it'll be ready. Besides, I'm sure that George could use some sustenance. Will you fix him a bagel too?"

"What am I, a chef?" Derek demanded.

"No, but you're fixing breakfast for everyone else …"

"OK, fine, but I'm telling him that you did it."

"OK, fine. Just do it."

Casey and Derek furiously worked in the kitchen, setting out the five bowls of cereal, pouring and doctoring cups of coffee for the adults, and gnashing through their food. Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti assembled at the table and dug in as well, not once complaining about having a cold breakfast or using hormone-enhanced milk. Within five minutes, everyone was finished, the dishes were in the sink, and the five children were throwing on their coats, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, gaiters, and snow boots.

Derek wrenched himself into the driver's seat; Casey sat next to him in the passenger seat. They looked at each other expectantly, and, for a brief moment, Casey saw her future in Derek's eyes. _This could be us,_ she thought, _rushing to the hospital. But it'll be me having the baby. We'll have a family. Derek and I will be a family, a REAL family, someday._

Derek must have had the same thought as Casey, because he reached over, grabbed her hand, gave it a quick squeeze, and smiled. They stayed like that for a few seconds, staring into each other's eyes, until Lizzie shrieked, "Ew, gross! Can you two please keep your hands to yourselves and _drive_?!"

Casey grinned at Derek, unfazed by her sister's outburst, and released his hand. "Lizzie's right, Derek, we should get going."

Derek threw the car into gear and tore out of the driveway. The car sped towards the hospital, carrying five excited, expectant passengers. The drive blinked by, and in seemingly no time, the car screeched to a halt in the parking lot and the McDonald-Venturi kids piled out into the brilliant morning. They raced into the hospital and towards the Labor and Delivery Ward, not stopping at the nurses' station to inquire about Nora's whereabouts. They waited impatiently for the security doors to creep open, then resumed their mad dashes down the hall. They arrived at Nora's room, Room 504, and were met by a morose-looking George.

"I have some news, kids," he said grimly.

Derek looked back at Casey with fear in his eyes. Casey felt her heart skip a beat, and her breath catch in her chest. She reached out for Lizzie and Marti, pulling them close to her. In turn, Lizzie and Marti wrapped their arms around Casey and looked nervously at George. Edwin moved a little closer to Derek, not quite touching him but definitely looking to his older brother for support and comfort.

Derek turned back to George and found his voice. "What's the news, Dad?"

George's face broke into a huge grin. "Nora's down in Recovery. And it's a boy!

**A/N: OK, so it's a boy! The McDonald-Venturi family now has an even number of boys and girls, it's Christmas Eve, and all is right in the world ... almost. Will George and Nora finally come to terms with Derek and Casey dating?!**

**Oh, right ... and on a side note, the final fic in this series is in first draft stage! More info on my profile page.**


	14. The Verdict

**A/N: Well ... it's the last chapter. And I know it's fast, but I started working on the third fic in the series, and I can't post that until I post this one! So, prezzie for you, you get another chapter really quickly. There's probably some errors, since I didn't have a chance to proof it properly, so if you find them, please let me know. Otherwise, enjoy!**

The McDonald-Venturi kids erupted with cheers, hugs, and high-fives in the hallway of the Labor and Delivery Ward. Derek reached out to shake his father's hand in congratulations, followed by a hug from Casey, a handshake and a hug from Edwin, and hugs from Lizzie and Marti.

"OK, kids, who wants to go meet their new brother?" George asked.

"Me!" Marti yelled exuberantly.

"Yeah, me too," said Lizzie.

"OK, let's go," George said, waving everyone down the hallway.

Derek squeezed Casey's hand surreptitiously, but quickly let go when he saw Lizzie eyeing them in disapproval. _What the hell, Liz?_ Derek though savagely. _Get over it. I'm dating your sister. _He scowled in her direction, and she glanced at the floor, kicking the tile with the toe of her shoe.

The kids followed George down the hallway. When they arrived at Nora's room in the Recovery Ward, George knocked gently and waited for a response.

"Come in," said Nora softly.

Derek, Casey, Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti filed in after George, arranging themselves in a semi-circle around the bed. Nora lay back, pale and worn, but grinning widely. In her arms, she held a small, tightly-swaddled bundle topped with a blue knit hat. The newborn's pink face was slightly smushed, and his eyes were squeezed shut tightly; his chest fell with small, shallow breaths.

"Kids, meet Gavin Donald Venturi," Nora said, shifting him in her arms so that everyone could get a better look.

Derek peered at his little brother in amazement. _Look at that,_ he thought_, he's so tiny! And good-looking too—he's clearly a Venturi. I wonder if our baby will look like that._

At that thought, Derek mentally slapped himself. _Wait, babies with Casey?! Well … maybe. We're not ready for that. Yet. But we could be, someday. And she's already admitted to wanting mine, so … yes! Give it a few years, man, and I'm going to marry Casey McDonald!_

"Derek, what are you smiling about?" George asked, looking at his son strangely.

"Oh, nothing dad, just what a good-looking kid this is. Clearly, he takes after me. How did you guys come up with the name?"

"Well, Gavin, because we liked it, and Donald after Nora's grandfather."

"Nora, your granddaddy was Donald McDonald?" Marti asked.

"No, sweetie, he was Donald Masen. He was my father's father. McDonald was from my first marriage."

"Oh, right. Never mind."

"So, do you guys want to hold him?" Nora asked the group.

She was met with resounding cries of "yeah!" so she duly passed Gavin to Edwin. As he made his way around the circle, George whispered into Derek's ear, "We need to speak with you and Casey. Alone. As soon as the nurse comes to take Gavin back to the nursery. Do you understand me?"

Derek nodded once and looked over George's shoulder at Casey. She was eyeing the exchange warily, trying to extract the conversation from his facial expression. Derek watched as Nora reached out for Casey's hand and gave it a tug, pulling her down to the bed and whispering something to her. _Nora must be telling Casey the same thing, _he thought.

The nurse came in to collect Gavin just as Casey was handing him back to Nora. George whispered something to the nurse, and she nodded briefly before preparing the rolling bassinet. After she got him settled, she turned to the younger children and said, "We're going to give Gavin his first bath. Would you like to watch?"

"Sure," Edwin said, turning to follow the nurse.

"I will," said Lizzie, moving to stand next to Edwin.

"I want to stay here with Daddy and Nora," Marti said, wrapping herself around George's waist.

"Oh, Marti, but it's his first bath! Don't you want to see how they bathe a baby?" Nora coaxed.

"Well …" Marti trailed off. She then caught the look that her father was giving her and finished, "… sure." She fell in line with Edwin and Lizzie.

George watched them leave, then shut the door and moved to stand next to Nora. He laced her hand into his and looked gravely at Derek and Casey. Derek looked at Casey with a mix of confusion and fear. _Whatever this is, _he thought,_ it's not good._

"Derek, Casey," George began, "Nora and I have a couple of things for you. First, Nora will be coming home tomorrow with Gavin, so you need to have the house ready for him. It needs to be cleaned, and we need one of you to set up the bassinet in our room. Derek, I think you should be able to handle that. We also need you guys to make sure that Christmas goes off without a hitch for the younger kids, including dinner. Casey, we think you can be responsible for that.

"Second, we had a chance to discuss your relationship this morning after Gavin's birth. To be honest, we're not happy about it, especially after reading some of Casey's journal entries.

"Which"—he continued, cutting Casey off before she had a chance to protest—"was an accident. Nora was cleaning your room, and she accidentally knocked your journal off your desk. It fell open, and a very, um … _descriptive_ entry caught her eye. That alone gave us reason to worry, but when that was coupled with doodles of 'Mrs. Derek Venturi,' well, you can see how we put two and two together."

Casey blushed and looked at the floor. Derek felt his face flush too, although more in anger than embarrassment. He could see where this was going, and he was already prepared for rebuttal.

"So here's what's going to happen," George said, gripping Nora's hand more tightly, "you may go to New York together, but that's it. After your winter break is over, Casey, you're moving into an all-girls' residence. Derek, we will continue to pay for Casey's portion of the rent until you find a new, _male_ roommate. You two will not see each other anymore, not like this. You are brother and sister, whether you like it or not, and you now have a brother in common. Do I make myself clear?"

"Casey, honey, I know this seems severe, but you'll thank us in the future," Nora said soothingly. "You have big things ahead of you, and you don't want the stigma of being intimately involved with your brother to follow you into your professional life."

"STEP brother, Mom, _STEP_!" Casey exploded, staring her mother down with fire in her eyes.

"Yeah, Dad, this is a little harsh, don't you think?" Derek asked, glaring at George.

"No, we don't. Derek, Casey, your relationship is effectively _over_. No argument. Now go home and do what we asked."

Derek and Casey filed out into the hallway and closed the door behind them. Casey looked at Derek with tears rolling down her cheeks; he felt close to tears himself. He reached over, cradled her hand in his, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Then, he gently cupped her face in his hands, gave her the briefest of kisses, and looked deeply, intensely into her eyes.

"We'll make it work, Casey. Someday, we'll be together. I promise."

**A/N: Aww ... so the initial Dasey is no more. I know, it's a sad ending, and I feel like I'm going to be beaten to death by the hardcore Dasey-shippers. But you enjoyed the story, right? Maybe? **

**So ... since this is my FINAL A/N for this fic, I had a question for you: would you like a spin-off/interlude from this story concerning Lizzie and why she so vehemently opposes Dasey? She has her reasons, trust me, but I won't write it if there's no interest. Well, I might, but I won't write it as soon as I would :-)**

**Also, I'm going to propose something that I never thought I would ... does anyone have any requests? Like I've said before, I love to write, and while I definitely prefer writing my own stuff, I think it's really important to learn to write on assignment (or request) as well. So, if there are any requests, let me know and I'll consider it. I'm thinking maybe three fics ... maybe 1- or 2-shots ... I don't know. Let's see, shall we?  
**


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